M.S./Ph.D. in Chemistry

Overview

The key component of a graduate degree in chemistry is research. As an R1 institution, URI’s graduate programs are designed to enable incoming students to excel in the research laboratory early in their careers. Course work is kept to a minimum, to allow time for mentored and independent research. We do not require incoming students to take placement exams. Our interdisciplinary curriculum is designed to provide the foundation for all graduate students to engage in modern research.

After their first semester, graduate students will begin research, and will only need to take two additional courses. Research areas are often interdisciplinary; for example, the department has strong research programs in materials science, sensor development, lithium ion batteries, biomedicine, photochemistry, solar energy, explosives, and even entomology. During the course of graduate study at URI, students should have multiple opportunities to present their work at regional and national meetings and to publish their data in scientific journals.

In their second year, students in the Ph.D. program will take a series of written qualifying exams, and typically in their third year, they will take a comprehensive exam with a written and oral component. After successfully passing these exams and completing all required coursework (other than CHM 644, which is typically taken in a student’s final semester), the student will be officially considered a Ph.D. candidate.